“DOCTOR SLEEP” — 3 stars — Rebecca Ferguson, Ewan McGregor, Jacob Tremblay, Kyliegh Curran; R (disturbing and violent content, some bloody images, language, nudity and drug use); in general release; running time: 151 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Stephen King famously wasn’t too keen on Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of “The Shining,” but “Doctor Sleep” seems to be a different story.
The author has called Mike Flanagan’s film — an adaptation of King’s 2013 sequel to “The Shining” — a “terrific movie,” encouraging people to not let the disappointing opening weekend keep them from seeing the film.
Which is interesting, since there are nods to Kubrick’s “The Shining” peppered throughout “Doctor Sleep” — references that sometimes feel too much like fan service. But as a whole, the new film mostly stakes out its own territory.
“Doctor Sleep” picks up in the aftermath of “The Shining’s” supernatural finale at the Overlook Hotel. Young Danny Torrance (Roger Dale Floyd) and his mother (Alex Essoe) may have survived the assault by crazed father Jack (played so memorably by Jack Nicholson in the Kubrick film), but the ghosts of the hotel are still pursuing the boy and it takes some special help from an old friend to keep them at bay.
Fast-forward a few years, and Danny (Ewan McGregor) has only exchanged one set of demons for another. Like his father before him, Danny is battling alcoholism, and he arrives in a remote New Hampshire town near destitute. In time, he settles into a hospice job, starts attending an addiction recovery group and makes a psychic connection with a young girl named Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran), who shares the special abilities he used to call “The Shining.”
Those abilities make Danny and Abra a target for a demon cult called The True Knot that has fed for centuries on children who possess The Shining. Led by a beautiful witch named Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson), The True Knot sets its sights on Abra. But the young girl isn’t interested in playing victim, and with Danny’s help, decides to confront the cult directly in a showdown that eventually leads to some familiar hallways.
As a horror movie, “Doctor Sleep” has some clear strengths, though Flanagan’s effort tends to be more disturbing than scary, and most of the frights are contingent on audiences being familiar with the Kubrick film. Even so, “Doctor Sleep” presents a very different feel from the claustrophobic original story that was concentrated in and around the Overlook.
Though Flanagan has included visual nods to the Kubrick film, the director’s style isn’t just an attempt to copy his predecessor. It’s violent enough to draw an R rating, if not overly graphic — though a drawn-out scene where the demons attack a young boy is pretty unsettling — and there are multiple scenes featuring the gross naked zombie hag from Room 237.
McGregor is a nice fit as an adult Danny, channeling just enough of a Nicholson vibe to make the spiritual connection to the character’s father, but Ferguson is the real standout as Rose, who seems to glide through the film with a devilish relish. The quality of the principal cast helps to offset the lookalikes brought in to reprise some of the original 1980 characters, who feel pretty distracting aside from Carl Lumbly, who steps in as former Overlook employee Dick Hallorann.
“Doctor Sleep” provides enough new intrigue mixed in with nostalgia to justify a ticket. It certainly isn’t the scariest movie you’re going to see this year, but Flanagan’s effort is a worthy follow-up to a celebrated original, provided you go in with the right expectations.
Rating explained: “Doctor Sleep” draws an R rating for a good deal of horror violence and imagery (including the aforementioned ghoul nudity), as well as some scattered profanity, including a handful of uses of the F-word.